Transamericaride 2023

Slept well and warm. Really did not want to get out of my warm bed. It was dang cold this morn. Left at 6:45. Waited just a bit til the sun came up.

First six miles on the interstate was the worst ever. Remember the suicide shoulder I mentioned yesterday. Oh, my gosh. Just add lots of sand and gravel in my 12 inches. It was really hard riding. Add the truck wind, and it was treacherous. But we survived. It was pretty flat and winding like the campgrounds lady said. Later I had to get back on again for a three mile and later a four mile stretch. We were out in the flats, and I had a 10 ft wide shoulder with rumble strips right next to the white line. Clean and awesome. It was like I had my own lane. Never seen one like that before either.

Beautiful scenery and very nice frontage roads. Better than some highways I’ve been on. The last 10 miles were a slight uphill grade with headwinds. I guess I’m glad they waited til the end. Really tiring.

So, the weather forecast is for 2-3 inches of rain and a flood watch. I have 68 miles to go tomorrow and really am feeling like I need a day off. I lucked out getting a room but not for tomorrow. I happen to be in the town having its 100th year rodeo. Bummer. The only reason I got this room was someone canceled. So. I asked to be put on the cancellation list for tomorrow and guess what. Someone just canceled, and I get a day off in my motel room. So happy. I really am starting to feel tired, plus my butt needs a rest. It may not start raining til noon, but I don’t think I can ride the rolling hills and get there before noon, especially if the forecasted winds appear.

It’s such a beautiful day today. Hard to imagine it’s gonna turn that ugly.

I was feeling guilty for not pushing another 20 miles, but I unloaded my bike and took a shower, and came out to rain. Ok. Wise move to stop.

Nice and sunny but cool the first flattish 20 miles. Then I got hot. Dressed for the 30 degrees they said it was. Sure didn’t feel like it with the sun.

I have to say I have seen, I tho’t every type of shoulder before today. NOT. How about a 12 inch rumble strip, then 12 inch shoulder next to GUARD RAILS. Oh, My gosh. Talk about suicide. I rode on the road and made everyone get over. Not riding in that death trap. Plus, my panniers might have rubbed the guard rails, forcing me into who knows what. Never seen that before.

The ride itself was on a frontage road for 30 miles. Beautiful flat and some rolling hills. Scenery was great, but road conditions left a lot to be desired. Got into town, and people were so nice helping me to find the bike shop and the campgrounds where I wanted to go. Have a sleeper cabin again tonight, but so much better than the last one. About twice as much, too. But you get what you pay for. And I have to say, motels and campgrounds are way out of sight with what they charge. I’ll pay for a cruise by the time I get home. I tho’t getting a cabin at an rv park would be soooo much cheaper than a motel room, but some are about the same. Oh, well. This is my 75th celebration ride. Can’t take money with you. Might not have any left by the time I get home though.

Stopped in Bozeman at a bike shop and got my tires pumped up. They are doing great. I could use my hand pump, and will when I need to, but love it when a bike shop is handy. I had them clean my chain while I was there. Eby is ready now for the isolated parts of WY. Just hope that bad weather leaves the area. All across the US, there are weather issues. Glad I’m not in TX or the Carolinas. Hate to even think about heading that direction. And, where I’m headed in Colorado is just as bad. So far, I’ve only had to deal with cold and rain. I can take that. Tornados, NO, triple digit heat, NO. This might be a challenge of epic proportions.

Tomorrow, I have to get on the interstate the first six miles. No biggy. I’ve had to do that before. And I checked. It is legal for a bike to ride on the interstate in MT. Good to know. I had a dream last night that a state trooper pulled me over and told me I had to get off the interstate. Yeah, like I will as soon as there is an exit. Think I want to be on here?

So the campground lady told me there is no shoulder on the interstate. I can’t imagine. Any interstate I’ve been on has at least a four foot shoulder where you feel sorta safe from the big trucks. Geez. Hope I don’t fret about that all night. Supposedly, I am going to be going over Bozeman Pass, but she said it is basically flat. Just lots of curves. Yeah, right. We’ll see. I’ve never seen a flat pass yet.

I’m telling you, talking to the locals is kinda funny. First, they have no concept of flat. No one who drives a car does. And, I’m finding that I can’t believe all they say. I get several opinions and go with the majority. AND, THEN MAYBE JUST TRUST MY GUT.

Sure loving this roomy cabin with a nice soft bed even though I have no bathroom. Privacy and comfort. Until tomorrow.

One mile out of town, it started straight up for four miles. This was the infamous Norris Hill I kept hearing about. Why it is not called a pass, I don’t know. The other side was two miles of 7% down, shorter but steeper than what I went up. But a pass, nonetheless. I had a plan of how I was going to get to Bozeman, but some local yesterday talked me out of it because I would have had to “crawl out of a hole”. It could not have been worse than Norris Hill. But, I took his advice and ended up here in Three Forks, a really cute town but 30 miles out of my way. I could have gone another 10, but there was no indication of a place to stay. However, 20 miles further would have been ok. But, I was tired after lots of up and down after the hill. I know when one is tired, accidents can happen, so here I am.

I’ve walked 1.5 miles, going to lunch, finding the library and post office, and visiting an antique store. So I accomplished a lot. Even though I’ve only ridden 40+ miles a day since I started, it has not been easy. Lots and lots of hills. Five passes and Norris Hill in 9 days. I think the worst hills are the long 2% grades that go on forever. Yes. I have an e-bike, but if you stop pedaling you stop and go backwards. It is easier but it is not easy.

The last 10 miles or so had no shoulder today, and only 2-3 inches of gravel off the edge. And lots of hills with no where for two vehicles and a bike to pass at the same time. So once again, I am cranking like a mad woman up every hill where there is no way to know what’s coming. I always made sure the coast was clear behind me and didn’t stop pedaling til I was over the crest. That’s one reason I’m tired. That is really hard on the legs and my psyche. Especially with so many trucks on that road.

Yesterday and today, when there were shoulders, there was usually rumble strips with only 12 inches of pavement on the outside and then a drop-off. One had the 12 inches sloping off to the side. Very hard to ride fully loaded. Most rumble strips are 40+ feet long with an 8 ft space between them where I can go back and forth somewhat easily, but lately, there hasn’t been that friendly space which means I have to cross the strip. Not my favorite thing to do. I’m sure Eby doesn’t like it either.

Not complaining, just telling it like it is.

Just remembered, when I went to the library, I met a lady whose sister married a valley resident. Her name is Evelyn Jardine, and is a nurse in Driggs. Used to be one of Moe’s nurses. I’m sure she has been my nurse at some point. What are the chances. The librarian said, when she overheard us, “the world is too small.”

Woke up to clear blue skies and cool. Perfect for climbing, which I did right out of town. The pass from Virginia city to Ennis was long and steep. I think it was harder than Lost Trail Pass. But it had several short passing lanes, which I love. Forgot to mention that Lost Trail Pass had a passing lane all the way from the bottom to the top. That was glorious.

Just over the top, I met two other cyclists. One was 35, the other 62. We chatted for a bit, and they were impressed that I was 75. After going down their side, I was glad I went up mine and not theirs. Mine was long and steep and curved a bit so you didn’t see miles in front of you. When it goes on forever, it feels like you’ll never get to the top. And their side had several really long straight stretches where you could see forever. I could even see the bottom from the top on the other side.

Down a little further, I met two more guys. One was 75 and on an e-bike, the other in his 60’s and still riding a regular touring bike. We had lots to talk about. The 75 yr old looked and acted lots older than me, I thought. And, they were being followed by a sag so not carrying much at all. He said they were cheating, and that’s ok. At least he is out there.

By the time I got down to Ennis, I was a little chilled and really hungry. Bought my first Snickers to get me another 8 miles. That pass just took it out of me. But, I stopped in a small town and the only place to stay for another 30+ miles

Tomorrow, there is a huge hill, and every local to whom I mentioned where I was headed told me about it. You can see it from miles away. Must be several miles long. I’ll know tomorrow after riding it. No way I have the umph to ride that today and then go another 20+ miles to a place to stay. I’m kinda out in a sparsely populated area now that I’ve gone off route after leaving Ennis. Gotta plan ahead. Don’t have Adventure Cycling maps to tell me where I can eat or stay. Have to rely on locals now.

This family of mom and dad and 6 very big teenagers graced my yard in front of my cabin. So cute.

I have to say the locals here in Montana are very bike friendly and respectful of cyclists. Every pickup gets way over. Except for the ones pulling boats or trailers. Most truckers do a very good job and I always give a friendly wave. Of course, there is the exception to the rule. Four cattle trucks passed me empty a couple days ago and then passed me loaded the next day. Three of them, both times, got way over in the other lane and, one, stayed right next to me. Didn’t get over an inch. If he could have heard me, his ears would have been burning. Geez, I had no where to go. But, I have to say, for the most part, Montana is a very bike friendly state. Loving it.

I do believe there is a way to make comments on my blog page, and I would love to hear from you. Especially if you have a suggestion as how I can make my blog better. I’m not lonely, but it would be nice to talk to someone other than myself and Eby. I have lots of time to fill in the afternoons, and for the first time, yesterday there were free paperbacks in the laundromat, so I got to read for a change.

Plan to take a nap and just enjoy my warm bed this afternoon. Rest up for the notorious climb tomorrow.

Stayed at the Bike Walk Southwesten Montana, a non-profit bike accommodation for cyclists and walkers. Really a neat place, but so glad I stopped in town for provisions. There were two cabins where you could sleep on the floor or a cot, two outside pavilions where you could pitch a tent under cover or camp on the grass. I wanted dry, so I slept on a lawn chair in one of the cabins. Not very comfy but worked. Better than being wet. The bathroom and shower were in the other cabin, inhabited by two guys. My cabin was the bike repair shop. Really a cool place but very rustic. People coming and going at all hours.

The ride today was pretty flat, with mild uphill grades. But it started to sprinkle as soon as I got on the bike and continued all 50 miles. Within 5 minutes of getting into my sleeper cabin at the rv park, the skies let loose. Man I was glad I wasn’t on the road. It really dumped. My cabin has 4 bunk beds just for me, a heater, YEAH, and a chair. That’s it. It will be warm and dry, and, right now, that’s all I want.

However, here I am in another town with no grocery or convenience store. The restaurant did have a cinnamon roll, so breakfast is taken care of for tomorrow. I looked on line and it said there was a grocery store here. So from now on, I am carrying breakfast for the next day no matter where I’m going. And maybe a couple other things. I hate getting somewhere, starving, and nowhere to get food fast. So today I’m at the only place in town, a restaurant, but can’t order lunch til noon. My poor tummy is having fits. “Burn that fat”.

This afternoon’s job is to do laundry. Some of my clothes are getting a little smelly. You can only wear the same bike shorts a couple times. And I have been dressing warm so I don’t get chilled. Resulting in getting sweaty underneath and wet outside the raingear. That’s why I don’t like riding in the rain. So hard to dress to be comfortable.

This glorious day of riding had an auspicious start. There was absolutely no place to buy food in this town except the restaurant even tho my Adventure Cycling map said ‘all services’. NOT. No grocery store, no convenience store, only the restaurant of the lodge. So last night, I asked if there was anyway I could order a breakfast sandwich. Have them make it that night and then nuke it for me at 7 when the chef comes in. Restaurant didn’t open til 8. I really wanted to be on the road early with two passes. They said, “yeah he can and would do that”. So I paid for it last night but no one showed up this morn. So I left a note saying I couldn’t wait and to give it to someone else. ARGH! Fortunately, I had a small breakfast bar, but I knew that wouldn’t go far. And my room had a coffee pot and a desk lamp but no where to plug them in. Really? I had to pull a chair from the bedroom and sit the coffee pot on it, blocking the entrance to the bedroom. Unreal. But, I got my coffee. So I was running on caffeine and a measly breakfast bar. I was hungry halfway to my destination.

As a result, I talked to myself and my bike a lot. I told myself this was a day to burn fat. So do it. And, I told my bike, who is called Eby, pronounced ee-bee, long e’s, that he really needed to help me today cause I was gonna run out of steam.

The ride was a gentle rolling 10 miles, then an easy two mile climb to Big Hole Pass.

The Top

As soon as I reached the top, it started to sprinkle, then went into a full- fledged shower. Oh. Boy. Not what I wanted, but I did expect it because those blue skies of yesterday were gone this morn. Another reason why I wanted to get on the road early.

Once I got down the steep part. I cranked it up, trying to stay ahead of the main shower. I did pretty good until almost the top of the second pass, which did not have a sign. I kept watching the storm, and it was intimidating to think it was going to catch me again.

This doesn’t show it very well, but it was a big cloud bank following me for over 20 miles. Stress!

The second pass was steeper and longer than the first, and the downhill went on forever. I coasted on what looked like to be flat for over 15 miles. Awesome and with no rain.

I stopped in Dillon and ate lunch, then got goodies for supper and breakfast. Rode out of town to Bike Walk Southwestern Montana, a camp for cyclists where you can camp or stay in a cabin, shower and bathrooms available. 🚻

More showers predicted for tomorrow, but I’m dry tonite. Hope to get on the road super early to beat the 9am showers.

Just wanted to mention that every once in a while, I’ll be out of service as I was 2 nights ago. Don’t panic if you don’t hear from me.

Also, in case you don’t know, I am riding by myself and loving it. No restraints other than what I put on myself.

After about freezing to death the night before and riding in very cool Temps all day, I was in a glorious warm motel room last night. Walked in, turned up the heat, took a warm shower, dressed for winter, and brought my body temp back up to normal. The room was very sparse. No kleenex, no glass to drink out of, three of the four light bulbs were dead or missing, no coffee pot, but IT WAS WARM and had an outlet to charge my battery. I really didn’t care.

Woke up to clear blue skies and COLD. But I couldn’t get coffee til 8, so I stayed in my nice warm bed and didn’t head out of town til 9. I only rode 20 miles to the next town because tomorrow is 2 more mtn passes, and I just don’t know yet how to guage my battery. So I’m using this as a partial rest day. Yeah, you say three 40 mile days and I need a rest? Not really, but I don’t want to stress my knees early in the trip. I hate the T word and do not train for rides. I just get on and go and take it easy the first week or so. I did ride some before I left home to get used to my bike, but nothing that would count for training. That’s just my style.

The route today was beautiful. Gradual up most of the way, and just heavenly. Went through the Big Hole River Valley. Very similar to Teton Valley but longer and I think more beautiful. It is known as the valley of 10,000 hay stacks, although I didn’t see any.

Maybe the wrong time of year. But, interesting fact, our Big Hole Mtns are actually an extension of these mountains, depending on what map you look at.

Can’t help but mention a cool flower I saw today. Looked it up, and it is part of the geum family.

Only saw three plants and one had a very pretty little yellow flower. What intrigued me the most were all the red tendrils emanating from the center of the plant and lying on the ground like arms. The picture doesn’t do it justice, but, believe me, it was cool.

I spent an hour or more talking to the owner of the local antique store while killing time today, and he was a most delightful person full of all kinds of info. He is a retired dentist and has his own mill and trees on his property, which allowed him to build his own shop totally paid for. Very interesting guy who also travels horseback on long rides. He was very familiar with the Driggs area, so we had lots to talk about.

It cleared off and no rain, but a cold front moved in, and the Temps dropped. I was in my tent last night, just lying there in my usual night clothes, and by morning I had on 2 pr long underwear and my Jammies, 5 layers on top including my heavy rain jacket, 2 hats, a pr of socks and my long fingered riding gloves. I just could not get warm. I had my light weight fleece but I didn’t bring my sleeping bag. Really tho’t I could get along without it. NOT. And now, the lady at the motel said they are calling for snow this weekend. I will be in a motel for sure. Dang!

Because I was so cold, actually shivering several times and thinking, how bad would it be to die of hypothermia in my tent, I laid in bed waiting for the sun to warm things. Turned out clouds had moved in, and the sun never made it to the campground. So now I’m thinking, geez, I really don’t want to put my cold riding clothes on my already cold body, but they didn’t seem that cold. So, I got a late start at 8:30.

First 15 miles were all uphill. Absolutely not a single downhill, not even 10 feet, over Lost Trail Pass and Chief Joe Pass. It was very chilly and at the top, I had to add more clothes for the downhill. I changed jackets and pulled one out of its little pouch and promptly rode off without the pouch, so I backtracked a half mile to get it. Like I needed more uphill. I think my brain was cold, too.

Weed of the day was fan weed. If I remember right, it was introduced from the Mediterranean in dried flowers and, once here, became a common weed seen everywhere. Also, saw lots of Wyeth Lupine, a native commonly seen along roadsides.

The last half of the ride, actually about 27 miles of downhill, went through a 2020 forest fire area. It went on for miles. So sad. But, I was loving that downhill even tho it was cold. Moteling it tonight here in Wisdom, the MT capital of the most ferocious mosquitos in the state, so I’ve been told.

6:00 and I just met three 60+ yr Old guys riding the same route as me. They have already ridden 80 miles today and are riding another 40 to Wisdom over the pass where I am heading tomorrow. Unbelievable. They looked tired and I tried to talk them into staying here tonite, but macho they are and off they went. Dummies. They were from France and Germany. To each his own.